The Verge, a tech-focused publication that was among the first to report the news, says "there is a possibility that this could be a hoax, but several people have said on Twitter that they found their real LinkedIn passwords as hashes on the list."

LinkedIn now confirms that "some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts."

In a statement, the company said those passwords that had been compromised have been disabled.

"These affected members will receive a second email from our Customer Support team providing a bit more context on this situation and why they are being asked to change their passwords," Vicente Silveira said in the statement.

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